For the second time in as many weeks, the Vancouver Canucks have stared last place in the face and said: not today.

Vancouver was in Glendale for a rematch with the 30th-place Arizona Coyotes, where a loss to their basement-dwelling division rivals would have made them last in the Western Conference. But it was not to be, as the Canucks denied the Coyotes the chance to come upstairs with a 4-1 win.

Much of the credit has to go to Ryan Miller, who made his first start in 10 days — the same amount of time it takes for Kate Hudson to lose a guy. But Miller didn’t look like a loser at all, making 35 saves in his return to the crease.

His counterpart in the Arizona net, however, looked about as bad as the movie I just referenced. After the Coyotes tied the game early in the second and looked poised to forge ahead, Smith surrendered three goals in three and a half minutes and got hooked. Here’s footage of that moment:

Why he was dressed like a sailor without pants, I have no idea.

I’d say it was a deserved pull. As Iain MacIntyre noted, this Canucks team isn’t exactly known for their high-flying offence.

But the Canucks exploded for three goals in 3 1/2 minutes, exceeding in 211 seconds their total offensive output from a five-game stretch earlier this season.

Hey man. Leave the past in the past.

Vancouver’s outburst began and ended with Loui Eriksson, who took a centring pass from Markus Granlund and managed to swat it past Smith.

THE BEST THING:

It was a deflating goal for the Coyotes, who probably deserved better. And after another quick goal from the same line, the Coyotes agreed, replacing Smith with Louis Domingue.

But let’s get back to Horvat, who delivered the second three-point night of his career and now has seven goals and 13 points, both tops on the Canucks. For the fans fretting over who will replace the Sedins, Horvat appears to have an answer: it me.

It helps that his linemates are playing good hockey as well. Sven Baertschi played his best game as a Canuck Wednesday, scoring the game’s first goal and assisting on two others — the first three-point night of his NHL career. And Alex Burrows, who looks energized since being assigned to play with the kids, had a two-point night as well.

Iain’s hashtag game needs work, but at least it’s accurate: that’s an eight-point night for the trio. They’ve been listed as the Canucks’ third line for the last two weeks, but at this point, I think we know better.

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